


Mechanical Hearts

by Not_You



Category: X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Still Have Powers, Emotional Baggage, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, First Kiss, Flashbacks, Gay Robots, Gore, Lust, M/M, Masturbation, Memory Loss, Past Torture, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective Erik, Robot Feels, Robot Sex, Robot/Human Relationships, Sharing Clothes, Sharing a Bed, Shaw Being Evil, Shaw is Creepy, Stalking, Telepathy, Virgin Erik, erik can be a sexbot when he wants to be, it's raining men - Freeform, or whatever robots have instead
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-12
Updated: 2014-12-16
Packaged: 2017-12-19 06:16:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 19,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/880398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Not_You/pseuds/Not_You
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for a kinkmeme prompt for Charles being able to read the minds of robots, due to cybernetic repairs to his brain (and legs.)  Erik is a poor lost android, and Charles has a habit of taking in strays.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> avictoriangirl made us all some lovely cover art for this one: 
> 
> http://archiveofourown.org/works/2746148

Charles can hear them. Generally, it's not so bad. People tend to at least try and be decent to their androids, especially after the Subjective Distress law, which allowed that while machines cannot be sentient, possess souls, or properly mimic human brainwave patterns, the responses built into their empathy and human mirroring system seem to be genuine to their possessors, and should thereby be avoided. It's like one of the first crude animal cruelty laws, but at least it's something. Still, the kaleidoscope of thoughts and longings and dreams makes him impatient. These artificial people are _real_ , in every way that matters. It lifts him and spikes him down, depending. Seeing a man walking about with his ridiculous, oversexed doll of a companion droid only to feel her love for him, and the accompanying agony because to him she will never be real is enough to knock Charles to the floor with despair, but the swelling pride of construction bots as they look over their completed work is enough to make him smile all day. He knows that people think he's mad, but luckily for him he's wealthy enough that they politely call it eccentricity and leave him alone.

Everything changes today. As usual with such things, there's no real warning. One moment Charles is walking along on his mechanical legs like always, enjoying their tireless spring, the next he's clutching his head, pain and rage and desperate fear overwhelming him. There's a scrapyard nearby, and in another moment he's up and running, flying down the street at top speed with no idea what's going on, only knowing that he has to stop it.

"Dammit, boys! Catch the fucking thing!"

To their credit, they're trying, but this one has a lot more kick left to it than usual, and bats at them with its frozen-open hands, functioning heel digging into the ground to push itself back and away from them. They're getting it cornered at last when someone who isn't their boss starts yelling. Posh yelling, with a command to stop immediately and in accordance with the Distress Law, of all fucking things. It's startling enough that they stop and look around, and the droid manages to stagger upright only to fall down again and start desperately slithering away.

"What d'you mean about the Distress Law, boy? We're licensed junkers, not murderers!"

"Then someone is trying to change that." The owner of the new voice comes in, and sure enough it's some milky-skinned kid with big blue eyes and a tweed jacket. But he seems dead serious, and the idea of scrapping a droid that isn't really junk horrifies them all (for moral and insurance reasons) so they let the boy speak his piece. Which consists of, 'a set of cranial tools, please,' and nothing else before he kneels down by the droid, murmuring soothingly to it. When it goes still, like it's really listening and understanding, a wave of nausea goes through the group.

Charles has to still his shaking hands before he can begin, pressing as much reassurance as he can into that mechanical mind. That Charles is here and knows that Erik is here too. And then he opens the face, and shows them all the deliberately broken connections as he repairs them. This poor android has a completely functioning brain but has been cut off from his physical affect interface as well as his vocal centers and fine motor control. His empathetic circuits that allow him to feel pain are still in place, as are all higher cognitive functions, but he is helpless to speak, change his expression, or make any movement purposeful enough to write or sign. This is the work of a monster.

"Jesus fucking Christ." The boss breaks the silence at last. "You know we had no idea."

"I know," Charles says, concentrating on his delicate task. Erik's limbs jerk spastically and his mouth opens to emit whitenoise and then the thing is done. Charles shuts his head and Erik is suddenly wrapped around him, clinging in pure terror. "It's all right, Erik. No one is going to hurt you." He glances up. "Who dropped him off?"

"Part of the night load. Anonymous. Figures. You wanna take him while we contact Construct Protection?"

"Yes, thank you." Erik lets go and stands, helping Charles up. His movements are crisp and precise and don't even hint at the terror that still overwhelms him. "Do I owe you anything?"

"Normally I'd say a parts fee, but this time we owe you. Take good care of him."

"I will." He leads Erik away, and doesn't speak until they're back at the point where he dropped his bookbag, which is still mercifully unmolested. Charles scoops it up, and turns to Erik. "What model are you, Erik?" He can usually tell on sight and sometimes by the touch of minds only, but Erik is unlike anything else on the market.

"...I don't know."

"Memory wipe?"

"Yes. But I remember the important things."

Charles holds out his hand. "Come with me. We'll get you properly repaired and charged."


	2. Chapter 2

Erik doesn't remember, and he knows he should. There was something before the experiments and pain in every circuit. Before the man with no face, the one who ripped the core out of Erik. He's lucky to even have his name left. Now he's here with Charles, and it's making him remember. There was another human, once. One that was gentle and solicitous like this. One that knew Erik was real. The touch of mind on mind is new, though. It's a bit like interfacing with another droid, but somehow completely different. Erik is no organic, he doesn't have to shudder out his adrenaline aftershocks, but the effect can't help but linger. Human hands trying to rip him apart are nothing new, but his programming swears they should be.

"They really didn't know, Erik. I've never passed that scrapyard and felt anything before today." He nods, still frightened. But this human knows, and squeezes his hand in a way that initiates a calming subroutine. "I promise I'll look after you, Erik. You're not alone anymore."

"Thank you."

The human just smiles, eyes bright. "You're more than welcome." He hails a cab and gives the driver an address which matches that of Dr. Moira MacTaggart, C.P./A.R.S.

"A cybernetic physician?"

"She's been my doctor for years, but she's fully qualified to be yours."

"…Is she like you?"

"She cannot see the proof, but she's kind to animals and lives by the Distress Law. She'll be very careful with you."

Erik nods. That will do, and Charles has already rescued him once, his associates will hopefully be sympathetic.

For the first time in a long time, Erik's hopes bear out. Dr. MacTaggart is horrified to hear his status report, and her hands are incredibly gentle as she opens his head again, making Charles's quick and tenuous repairs into strong, clear ones. She also shoots him up with a RepairAlert tag, so that if the repairs ever fail, even the most cursory scan of him will reveal the possibility and the need for a complete diagnostic. After that she puts him into Sleep mode so she can work without causing him pain. He opens his eyes again in pleasant shock. He hadn't even realized how badly his circuitry had been hurting until it had been fixed. "Thank you, Doctor."

"Of course, Erik." He sits up on the table and stretches to realign his frame. She watches him, frowning slightly. "Erik?"

"Yes?"

"Use your sleep mode to charge. I repaired what I could of your memory, so even with the main core gone, things might float up from the backup circuits. It's possible to find out who did this to you."

"…Thank you." He hops off the table, free of the mental fog that he had gotten used to as much of the pain.

"Yes, Moira," Charles adds. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

"I'm afraid I'll _have_ to charge you for the materials, but labor is absolutely pro bono."

Erik can see why Charles likes Dr. MacTaggart so much. He gives her some credits and a kiss on the cheek, and leads Erik out and into another cab, giving them his home address this time. "You'll stay with me for now, and presumably while CPS investigates, unless a prior owner can be found." Erik can't help shuddering, thinking of the man with no face. Charles notices, and puts an arm around him. "One who can be proven not to have abused you, of course. You're a very fine machine, Erik, and I can't imagine that someone who hadn't stolen you would do such a thing."

"My specs do compare to very high-cost companion and bodyguard models."

"Bodyguard models, hm? You are rather fierce-looking, and Moira did say she couldn't fully analyze your hands."

Erik looks down at them, flexing his long fingers. "I do remember… something. Something strange about my body."

"Well. Follow Moira's advice and sleep without shutdown and we'll see what happens." He nods, and soon enough they've arrived at the enormous mansion Charles calls home. He can't help but stare, and Charles chuckles. "You see why I pick up strays. It's much too big for me."

"How many other strays?"

"Well, there's my sister Raven, who I didn't have to pick up, and she found a chap with cyberdysphoria and brought him along home to keep him from hurting himself, and then got into a triune marriage with him and a Foldborn mutate. They've had a baby as well, and then we've also taken in an autopilot who had nowhere else to go and needed instruction in working his nanobots—Erik!"

Erik is twitching and jerking as something comes back online with a painful snap. "Don't hurt me!" He says, and it comes out in German, his first human language.

_Erik, it's all right! I swear I won't hurt you!_

And it's a wave of truth and Erik can calm down again. "I… he hurt me because of my nanobots."

"Maybe that's what Moira couldn't see in your hands, though a normal scan should have shown it… Either way, I promise you're safe with us."


	3. Chapter 3

"Charles, you're late!" Raven yells over the baby's squalls.

"Sorry, ran into something. Someone, really."

"Oh, what a unique model!" She comes over, bouncing Midnight, who perks up at the sight of a new person and stops crying, golden eyes big and fascinated. Raven clucks her tongue at him. "Little flirt. He loves making new friends. Do you have enough nurse programming to want to hold him?"

"…I have no nurse programming, but my pressure sensors are delicate enough for a newborn." Erik reaches out and takes Midnight unerringly, cradling him to his chest. Midnight babbles and coos up at him. The child is covered in fuzzy blue fur and has pointed ears, a prehensile tail, and three fingers to a hand and two toes to a foot, presumably taking after his mutate father. Charles chuckles.

"Friendliest member of the household, without a doubt. I hope dinner hasn't suffered too much?"

"No, it's stew and rice. I'm just cranky because I'm hungry." She hugs Charles and leads them into the kitchen, where Azazel is setting the table and Hank is stirring the stew.

"Hello, all. This is Erik."

Erik nods in greeting, and Azazel bows. Hank waves with one massive cybernetic hand. "Hello! Would you like to meet the other constructs?"

"He doesn't say 'droids' because part of the house is sentient," Charles explains, and Erik brightens.

"Really?"

"Yes, really." He calls Darwin telepathically, and he joins them in a minute, waving to Erik.

"Hey, man. Welcome aboard."

"Thank you." Raven reaches out for Midnight, and Erik puts the baby back in her arms and follows Darwin out. Darwin is a sleek, dark-skinned pilot model, with the large eyes and suite of adaptive nanobots that come with the job. "How much of the house is sapient?" Erik asks.

"Just the big simulation room. We call her Danger."

"Danger?"

"Yeah. She throws up a mean obstacle course, but she's also really good at soothing environments."

"I see."

Darwin opens a door. "Hey, Danger! Charles brought home a… hey, what are you, man?"

"I don't know. People seem to think I'm a unique model."

"Hey, cool. Anyway, you wanna welcome him?"

The room is suddenly a green forest with the sun beaming down, just the kind of natural environment Erik likes. He smiles. "Thank you, Danger."

"She's a little bit like Charles. Can't think in words, though, just code and images."

Erik nods, putting an affectionate hand on the wall. "She's beautiful."

Of course Erik and Darwin don't need to eat, but Erik does need to charge, and Darwin lets him use his charging stand while he goes to share the conversation if not the food at dinner. They're wildly different models, but almost everyone uses the same power sockets and Erik can plug in easily, sighing and relaxing as the energy starts to thrum through him, filling his battery and relaxing his voluntary skeletal fibers. He remembers Dr. MacTaggert's advice, and doesn't shut his brain down. He's a little afraid to anyway, after what nearly happened at the scrapyard, even though he can feel that the repairs are good. He closes his eyes, and drifts into his electric dreams.

Androids have been proven to dream differently than humans, but they still definitely dream, and now Erik is falling through a field of stars. There are bright fragments of memory there, too, but Erik can't quite see them. He gets tired of falling and dreams a path through the stars, nice, reassuring sheet metal under his feet. He still can't quite see the memories, but he knows they're there and that is everything. There's still phantom pain from the spot where his main memory core used to be, but they're duller now, and a little easier to ignore.

And suddenly one of the memories is in focus. He's new, very new, and everything hurts. It stops suddenly, and there are hands on his face, soft and soothing. "I'm sorry, little one," a woman's voice says in German, "but you must know what pain is to avoid damage."

Erik knows that voice and loves it. It's a voice that means safety and warmth and hands that don't want him to hurt. He reaches for it desperately, knowing there must be other information, but it recedes. Erik sighs, and begins to walk the path again as time ticks away in the real world. With complete shutdown charging is faster, but Darwin had said Erik can take as long as he likes, and Erik has not charged or dreamt in what feels like forever.

When he comes out of it at last, Darwin is there, looking amused. "Well, you did take your time."

"I did?"

"Yeah, you were under all night."

Erik's internal chronometer then informs him that it's early morning. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be, I just need to step in for a half hour of shut down."

"Please do," Erik says, unplugging and wishing he knew the name of the woman who taught him his manners.


	4. Chapter 4

Charles wakes up at ten, and immediately worries about his guest, hopping out of bed and wrapping up in a robe. _Erik?_ he calls.

 _I'm in the kitchen,_ Erik answers, and Charles goes down to join the others for breakfast. Darwin is showing Erik how to cook bacon, which he has apparently never seen before. Or doesn't remember if he has, poor thing.

"Are you feeling better?" Charles asks, and Erik smiles faintly.

"Much."

Hank is setting the table, Midnight on his back in a baby sling, cooing and babbling. Raven is buttering toast, and Azazel teleports in just in time to snatch up a potholder and take the coddled eggs out of the oven as the timer goes off. Erik jumps a little, and Azazel grins. "Hello, and pardon me." He sets the tray on the counter and moves around Erik and Darwin to kiss Raven and then Hank, touching the tip of his tail to Midnight's tiny one before kissing the baby's fuzzy head.

"That's Azazel," Darwin says. "He's Foldborn, in case you hadn't guessed."

"Foldborn?" Erik blinks, and Charles winces because everyone knows about them. There are always a few women who travel the spacetime folds without realizing that they're pregnant, and people like Azazel are the result, genes completely warped by in utero space travel and natures utterly attuned to the folds. They make excellent pilots and couriers, and Azazel is wearing the black coverall of the Westchester Courier Service. For Erik not to have pieced it together is a sign of how deeply damaged his brain is. Charles explains as Azazel checks the bacon, tail curling up behind him like a chameleon's.

"Is it done properly?" Erik asks, cocking his head. 

Azazel grins with sharp teeth. "It looks very good." Erik nods, and puts it on a plate, wiping the grease from his hands as Azazel laughs. "I think most organics wish we could do that."

"I know I do," Raven says. "I'd eat it all out of the pan before you could get any."

Azazel just laughs again and kisses her cheek as everyone settles around the table. Charles can feel Erik wondering what to do, but a place has been set for him so he sits down. Charles smiles at him. "Would you like an energy pack to drain while we eat?" He's prepared to explain what an energy pack is, but Erik nods, apparently remembering that the extra charge is pleasant. 

Darwin grins. "Me too, while you're at it."

"Of course, Darwin, of course." Charles gets up and fetches two of them, putting the little metallic boxes on Erik and Darwin's plates. 

Erik chuckles, and picks his up. "Thank you." The slot for it is just behind one ear, and Erik plugs it in as Charles passes around the toast and takes his share of the bacon. Androids don't sniffle, but there are suddenly blue-tinted synthetic tears rolling down Erik's face. Charles's eyes widen in concern, and Raven gently asks what's wrong. "I…" Erik's voice goes a little staticky with emotion, "I miss my mother."

"Your mother?" Raven blinks.

"I… Yes. She built me."

"So you _are_ a unique model!"

Erik just nods, wiping his tears away. Charles squeezes his hand, sending telepathic reassurance. Erik closes his eyes and drains the pack, cycling through some basic code, the android equivalent of taking deep breaths.

"I'm glad it's coming back to you, Erik," Charles says softly. Erik just nods.

After breakfast Hank makes his way to his lab, while Azazel goes to bed, the meal having served as his dinner because he's currently on night shift. Raven goes up with him and comes down again a moment later, a bag over her shoulder.

"Well, brother mine, I'll be back this evening. Call me if you need anything."

Charles hugs her goodbye and watches her go before turning back to Erik and Darwin. "Well, what shall we do with our day?"

"What do you usually do?"

Darwin grins. "Charles teaches, but he's on sabbatical, so he's been doing nothing."

"Reading and napping are things, Darwin," Charles says, pretending to be affronted.

Darwin laughs. "Yeah, and so's a jump to Arcturus, which I've gotta do today."

"Right, I forgot."

Darwin's trip isn't for a few hours, though, so they decide to take Erik out into the garden, which stretches out from the back door in a glorious riot of herb, blossom, and vegetable. There are even a few gnarled old fruit trees that still produce, and a high wall around the whole thing for privacy. It's the perfect place to bring someone like Erik, and he looks around curiously, padding after them on bare feet.

"So many plants," he says in tones of deepest wonder, and Charles has to smile.

"Yes. How do you feel about nature, Erik?"

"…Good. Curious. I think my feet have felt this way before."

Charles looks down at the short, soft grass under Erik's soles. "I see." He plucks some grass and crushes it, releasing its distinct, green scent and holding it out to Erik, who sniffs delicately and suddenly remembers running on soft grass just before it rained, the scent rising up from everything. The memory swamps Charles for a moment, so intense and clear, and he laughs breathlessly when he pulls away at last. Erik just smiles.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mention of past sexual assault (because Cain Marko is a terrible person), if you want to avoid that. Charles stopped it, though.

Erik doesn't know the name of the red flower that Charles holds out to him. It must be something very basic, because Charles looks gentle and sad as he puts it into Erik's cupped hands, holding his own around them.

"It's a rose, Erik. Let me help you remember."

He nods, and then Charles is reaching into his mind, gently piecing together the torn memories and suddenly Erik is new again, standing barefoot on soft grass while the voice that made him says, " _dies ist eine Rose, Liebes_." He still can't see her face, but opens his eyes knowing that this is not the first garden he has been in, that there is another, and that wherever that garden is, is home. Charles is beaming at him, eyes bright.

"Thank you, Charles."

"I'm sure we'll get more back, Erik." He takes Erik's hand. "Come, there's more to see."

There is more to see, and Erik is happy to follow Charles and Darwin through the flowers and around the trees, relearning the names of things, and cataloguing their myriad scents. Darwin seems to delight in this process, and only goes away relutantly, leaving Charles and Erik sitting on the bench by the tiny ornamental pond. Erik watches the birds and insects and feels the sun. He doesn't remember all of it, but he remembers being kept somewhere away from the light and warmth, and shivers.

"What's wrong?"

"I was... I was kept somewhere. Somewhere cold."

"A storage locker?

"And a lab." He tells Charles what little he remembers of the faceless man's experiments. He hates that so much of the pain has stayed with him, but that almost everything of his mother is gone. The faceless man had wanted to know something about his hands, something about nanobots. Now Erik can't even feel them, doesn't even know if they're still there. Charles puts an arm around Erik as he startes to shake.

_Erik, I swear to you that he will never get hold of you again. No matter what happens._

_Thank you._ The words are inadequate, but the thought means everything.

They don't speak for a long time, and are quiet as the start to walk through the garden again, Charles telling Erik what everything is with endless patience. Erik is glad of that, and works hard to assimiliate the not really new information. Nothing else of his mother comes back, but he has hope now that it will, and that's what matters. He's a bit ashamed of himself when he hears Charles's stomach growl. That's not a good sound, it means that they've been out here so long that poor Charles needs more fuel. He's not sure how he knows that, but he does, and steers Charles back inside.

"Are you really sure you don't have nurse programming?" Charles asks as he opens the door.

"I suppose not." Erik shrugs. It certainly doesn't feel like he has nurse programming, but how would he know anymore? The thought depresses him, and he follows Charles into the kitchen, cheered up a little by the opportunity to watch more food preparation. This is simpler, though. Just two slices of what Erik knows is bread, with some vegetables and a more familiar-looking kind of meat. "What is that?" He asks, and Charles smiles.

"Roast beef from the kosher deli."

The word 'kosher' brings something back with it, the voice saying, " _It's a custom, dear one, that I choose to keep_." "Mother kept kosher," he hears himself saying, and Charles looks at him. 

"She did? Has the meaning come back?"

"Just that certain fuels weren't good. I remember," he suddenly smiles and laughs, because he does, "I remember telling her that it made no sense to me, and she said that it didn't have to."

"A wise woman, from the sound of it. We'll find out what happened, Erik. I know it."

Erik nods, and Charles leads him into the other room and teaches him to play chess. Erik likes chess, how smooth and geometrical and sensible it is. It soothes his aching mind, and by the time they move on to other things, he has won two games. Charles smiles at him, and explains that some of the first thinking machines of any kind had played chess, and that he had never yet met an android who wouldn't. "But you seem to enjoy it more, Erik. I'm glad we've found something you like."

"Thank you, Charles. I do like chess." After that they go into Charles's study so he can peck away at one of the papers he's writing while Erik looks through all the books. He likes the pictures in the big illustrated treatise on cybernetic repair and augmentation. As he flips through it, he thinks of Charles's bare metal feet, and the faint glint of silver through his hair. "Charles?"

"Yes, Erik?" He doesn't even look around, but still sounds friendly.

"Do you mind if I ask about your modifications?"

"They're repairs, properly speaking, but I don't mind." He swivels his chair around and looks at Erik. "I was in a ship crash, and it damaged my head and my legs. At first they were repairable, but while I was healing I... Well. I have a stepbrother, and he's not a good person. He rented a pleasure model and was exceeding her tolerances. She wasn't programmed for what he was doing, and that's why he wanted to do it. I stepped in and he beat me within an inch of my life, necessitating cybernetic repair." He smiles, but somehow Erik knows it's not a happy one. "I don't regret it, though. After the brain repair I could hear the thoughts of constructs, and I knew I had done the right thing."

Erik nods. He's not even sure what a pleasure model is, but knowingly exceeding a machine's tolerances is deeply wrong. He shudders, and Charles assures him that Cain, the monster's name is Cain, is still in prison.


	6. Chapter 6

Charles is well beyond glad to be on sabbatical. It means he's here all the time, to take calls from CPS and to work with Erik on recovering his memories. There are more and more of the faceless man, of his endless experiments on Erik's hands, which still seem as unremarkable as ever. Or only remarkable in their beauty and dexterity. Charles holds them and gently flexes the joints, reaching with his mind to see if there's any mental connection to something hidden. Erik is very patient even as this turns up nothing, but after a while asks if they can please play chess.

Charles laughs. "Yes, we can play chess. Thank you for your patience, Erik."

"I was built patient," he says, getting up and getting the chess set.

"I suppose you were." They play in silence for a while, and then Charles asks, "May I look into your head again, later? I was thinking we could check for a physical connection to your nanobots."

"All right, but be careful."

Charles is careful. Poor Erik has been so profoundly violated that Charles opens his head with reverence and awe, honored to be allowed to. Erik doesn't even tense, just lets him in, lets Charles brush the pads of his fingers over the snapped off connections. With his hand in the void where Erik's primary memory core should be, Charles shudders. The savagery of this of is appalling.

"My poor Erik," Charles says, caressing the prickly little abortive connections. "No wonder you can't feel your nanobots anymore. Still, I do think—ow!"

"Are you all right?"

"I just got shocked. I think this mircoconduit here is where the connection was. It looks like there's a whole system here, but that all control of it went with your main core."

"...Can we reverse-engineer something?"

"I don't know, Erik. You're pretty advanced. Still, we could possibly connect it to the backup cores you're using now."

Erik is eager to try, and Charles hauls out old hardcopy books on hand-machining. Darwin is a massive help once he gets back from his trip, able to trigger his nanobots to harden his skin enough for him to smooth metal between his palms like clay. The component is gleaming silver, the alloy Charles's best guess. It looks right against Erik's brain, however, and the sleek tip of the component fits the microconduit perfectly. They have to shut Erik down for him to incorporate the component, and Charles holds his hands as he goes under, able to feel Erik's terror that he won't come back up.

 _You're safe here, Erik_ Charles tells him. _Even if you become unresponsive, you have Moira's tag and you have me. I won't let anything happen to you._

There's a wave of gratitude, and then Erik goes quiet. They leave him under for the recommended sixty minutes, and then start him up again. He opens wide grey eyes, and flexes his hands. "I... I feel something, now."

Darwin grins from ear to ear. "Any idea what kind they are?"

"Not yet." Erik steps out of the charger, still flexing his hands into every possible shape. "I feel... metal."

"Like a mining model?" Darwin asks.

"Maybe?" Erik frowns. "I feel all the metal here. Even the iron in Charles's blood, and every one of your nanobots, Darwin."

"A really sensitive mining model. Can you self-repair?"

"I don't know," Erik says, and reaches out, a knife floating out of the block and into his hand.

"Erik..." Charles says, and then yelps, "Erik!" as he slashes himself across the back of the left hand, watery synthetic blood oozing up. Before he can even press a towel to it, it knits, revealing top of the line constructive nanobots in action. Darwin stares.

"Wow."

"Erik, don't do that!" Charles scolds, putting the towel away as his heart rate goes back down toward normal.

"I'm sorry, Charles. I thought experimentation was the best way."

Charles sighs. "I suppose you're right. Still. You said you could sense the iron in my blood?" Erik nods. "My god, that's amazing. Can you find the others? What's your range?" He stops, not wanting to remind Erik of the faceless man and his brutal curiosity. Erik just smiles, and closes his eyes. "Raven and Midnight are in the garden, just under the peach tree. I can't find Azazel, and Hank is just coming up the walk."

Sure enough, Hank comes clattering in on his giant feet a moment later, and looks at all of them. "What did I miss?"

At this, Charles can't stop himself. "Oh, Hank, you have no idea!" He tells him everything they've just found out about Erik's nanobots, and glances over at Erik just in time to see him grin, the expression wolfish and happy. He lets Hank examine his hands, and demonstrates his trick of picking up the knife from a distance again. There is no known model with metallokinesis built in, but they already knew Erik was unique.


	7. Chapter 7

With his nanobots, more of Erik’s memory comes back. Never the right memories, and it makes him furiously impatient. Useless sensory snippets, and beautiful snatches of his mother’s voice, but no hint of her name and only broken flashes of her face. He dreams as often as he can, but it’s never enough. Reading about hunger and listening to the humans talk about it, Erik supposes his longing for anything of his mother is the closest an android will ever get. He asks Charles about it, and is pleasantly surprised when he comes close and wraps his warm, organic arms around Erik.

“Oh, Erik. I'm so sorry," he says softly.

"You're helping me, Charles," Erik says, confused. "Don't be sorry."

Charles laughs, a tight watery quality to the sound alarming Erik. He has learned a great deal about crying from helping with Midnight, and it sounds as if Charles is about to. So Erik rubs his back and emits a constant hum of the frequency the baby seems to find particularly soothing. Charles laughs, which isn't the intended result but is still an improvement.

"I promise not to fuss or cry, Erik," he says, still laughing and squeezing Erik's torso in a way that is strangely pleasant.

"Good."

They talk about other things after that, and play chess and a few other mathematical games, because they soothe Erik. But much later, when it's dark out and everyone is asleep, he plugs himself into the charging stand and wonders about pleasure. Because Charles and the baby are both deeply pleasant to hold, but it feels different. And it's not just that Midnight is so much smaller and more fragile.

The next day Darwin is back from one of his many jaunts, and Erik can ask him about pleasure, and the different kinds and what a pleasure model even is. He's a bit surprised when Darwin laughs. "Our little man is growing up, huh?" he finally says.

"...I have no idea what you're talking about," Erik says, starting to get a bit annoyed at this continued opacity in another construct.

"Sorry," Darwin says, patting his shoulder. "Come on out to the garden, it's a good place for a long talk."

"Is pleasure really that complicated?"

"Humans make everything complicated. Haven't you noticed?"

"Complicated like kosher," Erik says.

"Exactly." Darwin leads the way to that comfortable bench by the pond. Erik settles beside him. "So, human sexuality is really what you're asking about it, and it's pretty crazy. I mean, there's also nonsexual physical pleasure, like what we feel when we follow our functions to the best of our abilities, or when we use our nanobots or hold the baby. But an actual pleasure _model_ is all about the sexual kind." Erik nods. It makes sense that humans would enjoy making more humans. It seems to be most of what they do, after all. "Humans are weird about it, though. Like, they come in two basic models and several less common ones, but they seem to think the less common ones are factory rejects instead of natural variations."

"That's... incredibly strange."

"Yeah, humans have a lot of hang-ups. They love sex, it helps them bond and relax and so on even if it doesn't serve any reproductive purpose, but they have thousands of years of cultural baggage about enjoying it. But, even with that baggage they like it so much that they built pleasure models for when they can't find another human to have sex with."

Erik listens in utter fascination as Darwin explains things and shares files with him. After about ninety minutes of quick research and pelting Darwin with questions, Erik runs a self-diagnostic. Many companion models and other types have secondary pleasure model functions to increase their empathy for the human experience, and he wants to find out if he has a whole hidden system. Darwin waits for him and then laughs aloud when Erik cries, "I have a penis!" in pure, scientific delight. "And a prostate and testicles, too!"

"Lucky. I'll have to have some installed if I decide to get sexual with a human in the usual ways. Charles has said he'll chip in for it, though."

This prompts a whole other discussion about gender and orientation, such as how Darwin knows which genitals he'd rather have, and the vast cultural movements that arise from the simple occurrence of disconnects between genitals and social identity. By the time they're headed back into the house, Erik knows what humans mean when they talk about their heads spinning from assimilating too much information too quickly. He only exchanges a few words with Charles that evening, still busy thinking, and he sets himself to dream, as usual.

The dream Erik has this time is very strange. For some reason he's with Charles while Charles is bathing. Synthetic skin not producing any secretions, Erik does not usually bathe. He has gone in to spray Midnight's vomit off and then sterilize the affected surfaces, but he has never filled the antique-style bathtub. In the dream it's full, though, and Charles is lounging in it as Erik washes him. Erik has washed Midnight, but that's a pleasant task, where this... there's something about bathing Charles that feels as different as holding him had in waking reality. There's an odd tingling in Erik's skin, and he emerges from recharge with what he recognizes as an erection, even if the feeling is totally unfamiliar. He touches this strange hydrostatic skeleton, and shivers with what must be pleasure.


	8. Chapter 8

Charles isn't sure what to make of Erik's plethora of questions about pleasure models, but he supposes the whole thing is very strange from the perspective of a construct. He answers all that he can, and does his best not to squirm, wondering why Erik's mother made him so beautiful. Maybe it was just artistry at work. Charles has been with pleasure models. Most of them love their work, taking joy in doing what they do best, which is reading and responding to humans and giving and receiving pleasure. The echo effect Charles's cerebral modification allows is positively delightful, and he keeps reminding himself not to imagine what it would be like with Erik's beautiful metallic mind and synthetic body.

Moments like this make that a lot more difficult. Erik is carrying Charles's freshly folded laundry through the kitchen on his way to the stairs, and already is just adorable, housekeeper programming humming happily along. But then he stops, a confused look on his face, the accompanying emotion washing over his mind. Charles pauses as well, wondering if he'll be able help Erik sort this out. His original mission of tea and toast is already forgotten, and then Erik shifts the laundry onto his left arm to reveal the erection tenting his pants. Charles mostly definitely _could_ sort that out for him, and tries not to laugh or moan. Thus confused, his system settles for choking, and Erik looks over at him, concerned. Charles waves a dismissive hand, and Erik looks back to his cock, head slightly tilted.

"This usually happens at night," he says, full of scientific curiosity. Charles has to laugh then, half-coughing at first. Erik looks over at him again, and smiles. "I'm supposed to seek privacy at this point, correct?"

"Or company," Charles says, before he can stop himself. 

Erik grins at him. "Oh?"

Charles blushes, and gives up and just sends Erik a wave of desire and the equally strong need to keep Erik safe and happy. He wobbles a bit and almost drops the laundry, looking at Charles with wide eyes. "Really?" he says, soft and childlike.

"Really," Charles says, fighting the urge to offer a pinky swear.

Erik smiles, and comes over to Charles, pressing petal-soft synthetic lips against his cheek and murmurs, "Privacy now and company later, I think."

Charles does his best not to whimper. "Whichever you want, Erik. Whenever."

Erik's smile widens into that long and sharklike grin that looks so little like any android face on the market, and Charles feels a flicker of something almost like terror in the depth of his lust for this being. "Lovely," he says, and glides away with the laundry. Charles decides to have a restorative brandy instead of tea, and Raven comes in on the tail end of it to laugh at him for being an old man.

"Well, we do have brandy snifters," he points out, swirling the amber liquid. "Might as well get some use out of them. Besides, this is medicinal."

"Oh?"

"I'm pretty sure Erik was just hitting on me." Raven is, as usual in these situations, very unhelpful. She cackles so loudly that it wakes Midnight where he's sleeping against her back, and she shifts the sling around to soothe him back down. "And you know how much androids like you, Charles."

"I feel like a dirty old man. He can't be more than five years old, after all."

"That's totally like, thirty in android years and you know it, Charles. Even somebody's project model, which he must be."

"He really is remarkably unique."

"And hot. You should totally take his android virginity."

"Thank you for your encouragement, Raven."

She just laughs, and makes herself a sandwich, working one-handed with Midnight on her hip until Charles finishes his drink and takes the baby, crooning at him as his mother feeds herself. Midnight makes sleepy noises, and Charles nuzzles the fuzz on Midnight's forehead. He has hair as well, but his body is covered in very fine deep-blue fur. Midnight is a beautiful baby, and Charles softly tells him so until he falls asleep again. Raven straps him to her back again, enjoins Charles to at least let Erik fuck him even if he won't pursue, and then disappears again. She's editing some kind of zine these days, and says that Midnight is very good partner in her work.

Of course, this leaves Charles alone in the quiet house. Hank is asleep, Azazel and Darwin are gone, and Erik is presumably off making use of some privacy. After some pretense at work Charles elects to do the same and struggles to keep his mind shielded when it's full of Erik. Most companion models are built with sex organs and some inclination to use them. Knowing now that Erik's work just fine and that that inclination is toward himself, Charles wonders if it's possible for someone relatively young and fit to come hard enough to cause a heart attack, and then can't think at all. Knocking on his door makes him yelp and jump, looking around for something to wipe off with. "Yes?"

"Charles?" And oh god, it's Erik. And he sounds concerned. And his chemoreceptors might be telling him everything, depending on their programming.

"I'm all right, Erik!" he calls, and scrambles into a bathrobe. As he does, he realizes that they haven't gotten Erik anything to wear but his dingy grey jumpsuit, and as he opens the door he asks, "Erik, would you like some clothing of your own?"

"You were worried about your heart," Erik says, flat and refusing to be distracted.

Charles feels himself blush, and grimaces. "I wasn't _really_. I'm all right. And do you want clothes? I just realized we haven't offered you any, and just because Darwin doesn't care at all..."

Erik blinks, the way he does when something is coming back. "I used to have clothes."

Charles smiles, leaning on the doorjamb. "And you can again, if you like."


	9. Chapter 9

Erik knows that he's being manipulated, but now that Charles has opened the subject of clothes it's pretty much impossible for him to resist. Some switch has been flipped, and a whole appreciation for line and color has come back to Erik. He can feel that this is a return, not an addition, and forgets about sexuality and even about the possibility of anything going wrong with Charles's heart in his eagerness to explore it.

Nothing in Charles's closet fits, Hank has nothing worth borrowing, and Darwin doesn't bother about clothes. Azazel has suits, though, and jeans that Erik can get into. Raven also has several huge dresses left over from her pregnancy, and after finding some more typical outfits to wear while shopping, Erik sits patiently and lets Raven paint him with cosmetics. He can tell he has never done anything like this before, but it's fun, and there's something pleasing about having silver shimmer smeared across his eyelids. She paints his lips with pink gloss, and lines his eyes with black, belting the loose dress tightly around Erik's narrow waist and then presenting him to Charles like a new doll. Erik is a bit surprised at how much he likes it, and smiles to see that feeling reflected in Charles's eyes.

"You are so hot in drag," Raven tells him, taking several pictures. "I just wish I had some high heels big enough for you."

Erik wrinkles his nose, not liking the impracticality of those wobbly little stilts. Charles laughs, and then apologizes for catching Erik's thought. Erik shrugs. "It's much more efficient than talking out loud, Charles. I don't mind."

Much as Erik enjoys dresses and makeup, he wears something more conventional to go into public with Charles. He would rather deflect than attract attention, for the most part. The man with no face is still out there somewhere, even if Charles insists that he won't let anything happen to Erik. Humans may still harbor many strange prejudices, but no one says anything when Charles takes Erik's hand as they walk. Charles murmurs soothingly in his mind, that they look like just another couple shopping together.

The first thing they do is buy a few packages of socks and underwear. Plain white, plain black, and an assortment of solid colors for variety. Erik really probably only needs one set, since he doesn't sweat and has no body odor except the faint and (his research tells him) pleasant scent of cinnamon, but Charles just laughs when he mentions it.

"Even if you don't need to wash them as much as a human, clothes do wear out." He laces their fingers together again as Erik takes the bag with his free hand. "And everyone enjoys variety."

"What now?" Erik asks, squeezing gently because he really likes holding Charles's hand and wants to express that somehow. Charles squeezes back and Erik's chest gets that strange warm feeling again.

"Now, outerwear." He leads Erik to an entirely different store, and then waits patiently while Erik tries on as many things as he likes. Every time he guiltily remembers the average human attention span and asks Charles if he's bored, Charles smiles and says that he isn't.

Erik understands currency on a theoretical level and knows all the current exchange rates thanks to a few feeds Darwin had recommended. He's stunned at the amount of credit Charles parts with for the clothes, and Charles just shrugs. "These are like you. Top quality and built to last." Erik blushes, and then forgets all about being embarrassed to wonder why on earth he has that subroutine built in. He asks Charles, who smiles and says that Erik is a work of art, designed to be as close to human as possible.

They stop at a cafe for Charles to refuel, and things only go wrong for Erik when they're walking to the park to meet Azazel. A cloud crosses the sun in a certain way and the polarization of the light shifts as the breeze brings aromatic compounds from the flowers to his chemoreceptors and suddenly he remembers. The sound of the gun and Mother crumpling to the floor and blood everywhere, on the floor the wall and the petals of the fresh flowers in the vase on the table blood everywhere and the man with no face

 _ERIK_ It feels like an override, and Erik is glad of it, letting Charles's mind sweep over his own. He realizes that he's on his knees in the grass, clutching at his head, and that everything metal for a hundred yards in every direction is vibrating. He opens his eyes, in dread of all the staring. It's actually a relief that his audiovisual input is scrambled. As it resets, he realizes that Charles is right beside him, his hand a comforting weight on Erik's head.

"—rescue droid," he hears Charles saying, "sometimes has flashbacks."

"Oh, poor thing," a woman coos, and there's a general murmur of sympathy. Erik staggers to his feet, blinking, and lets Charles lead him through the concerned and curious crowd to the huge tree where Azazel is waiting for them.

"All right, Erik?"

"Just get us home, please," Erik says, voice cracking. Azazel nods, and they reappear in the kitchen, where Charles sets the bags on the table and makes Erik sit down and drain an energy pack while cycling through basic code and struggling to assimilate the memory.


	10. Chapter 10

Charles sits beside Erik's charging stand, unable to sleep. Erik had asked him to stay before his mechanical mind had slipped away into electric dreams, and now Charles doesn't have the heart to leave. Erik is so still, upright in the charging socket. There are faint bluish tear stains on his cheeks, and a lock of hair hanging over his brow.

As Charles finally starts to nod off despite his emotional turmoil, Darwin comes in, looking amused and concerned in equal measure. "C'mon, meathead. Time for sleep."

"Meat made the machines," Charles mumbles, but lets Darwin shoo him off to bed. Darwin will keep Erik safe. Charles barely gets out of his clothes before tumbling into bed and falling asleep almost immediately, exhausted. He has fitful dreams about hungry grey dogs, and wakes with a start when he realizes that there's someone else in bed with him. None of the alarms have gone off, and when his drowsy mind reaches out it finds Erik, and relaxes again.

Charles comes truly awake a few hours later. The light from the window is pallid pre-dawn blue, and Erik's arms are heavy around him, hyperdense synthetic muscle under icy-pale skin. White androids tend to be very white, with no need to produce melanin in response to the sun, and with almost no color in their artificial blood. Now Erik is blue-white with blue shadows, looking so much colder than he feels. Pretty much every model is self-heating, and while some are actually hot and some are always cooler to the touch, Erik has been set perfectly. If not for his mass and the slight buzz of his constructed mind against Charles's organic one, he could be human.

 _Charles?_ The thought slips into Charles's mind, rounded and metallic and cool, ready to slide away again if Charles is too tired. He isn't, though, and wraps his arms over Erik's, squeezing.

 _Yes?_ His own 'voice' never sounds/feels/tastes the same as the constructs he talks to. There's something... _furry_ about it, almost. Something humid and exuberant, that's warm instead of cool, pulsing instead of buzzing. Erik catches the unformed question and sends him an image of a happy, panting Labrador Retriever. Charles laughs. _Maybe a bit like that._

Erik smiles and lets Charles turn in his arms to face him. They just study each other for a long moment, and Erik speaks to Charles's mind again, reaching out like he's purpose-built for it. _I like being with you. I like it very much._

Charles blushes, and he can feel Erik's fond interest in the physical reaction. "Erik, what are you doing here?"

_Didn't I just tell you? _Under the words there's worry, though, and Charles sighs to see that some of it is _still_ about his heart. __

"Oh, Erik." He cups Erik's face in his hands. "I can assure you that there is no heart trouble in my family, and that a recent physical found me quite fit." He can feel his blush deepening, and just shows Erik the memory, inviting him to look up articles on heartrate immediately before orgasm. 

_Oh._ Erik says at last, and Charles bursts out laughing. 

"Better?" 

"Yes." Erik grins. "You were thinking of me." 

"I was," Charles says, because there's no point in denying it. "In addition to liking you very much, I'm sexually attracted to you. Have you given that much thought?" 

"Something like forty percent of my processing capacity, sometimes," Erik says, and Charles does his best not to whimper, because Erik's brain is the most incredible custom model Charles has ever seen. That's a lot of processing power. 

"I... I don't know what to say.." 

_Then don't say anything._ Erik leans in and just brushes his lips across Charles's, soft and dry and experimental. Charles shudders, and makes things more humid, exhaling over sensitive receptors and then pulling Erik even closer, turning it into a real kiss. When he pushes his tongue into Erik's mouth, Erik moans and sucks on it a little too eagerly, gentling as Charles shows him how to do it properly. He shivers and melts into the kiss, learning more quickly than any inexperienced human would. Soon he has Charles flat on his back, pinning him to the mattress and kissing him hard and deep. Charles moans and rocks up against Erik's thigh when it slides between his own, gasping desperately when Erik pulls away. 

"Is your oxygen saturation sufficient?" he asks, and Charles can only laugh, rock hard and dizzy from kissing a man who doesn't need to breathe. 

"I think I need a minute to ensure that," he says at last, and Erik smiles, nuzzling his cheek like a cat. 

_Take your time, Charles._

Charles sighs, and pushes Erik's shirt up to kiss his chest. He's perfectly smooth, and this close Charles can feel the tell-tale buzzing between beats of his artificial heart. He smiles, and nibbles gently on Erik's skin, making him yelp quietly. _Erik?_

_I hadn't understood how pleasure and pain could have similar sensory effects._ He sounds stunned, and Charles laughs, biting him again. 

_Like it?_

_Very much,_ Erik purrs. 

They spend the next few hours in happy exploration, but then Charles needs a little more sleep. He uses the bathroom and comes back to bed to find Erik clutching a pillow and trembling, small but steady vibrations of misery throughout his body. _Erik?_ He reaches out and finds Erik in the grip of a flashback again, the man with no face taking him apart. Before Charles even knows what he's doing he pulls Erik out of the traumatic memory, leaving him in the first place that feels safe before leaving his mind to allow him privacy. Back in his own head again, he sees that Erik is still, but that tears are streaking his cheeks, sliding out from under closed eyelids. 

_Her name was Edie,_ Erik says before Charles can ask. _Edie Lensherr. Thank you. Thank you so much._


	11. Chapter 11

Charles holds Erik while he cries, and Erik is so overwhelmed and so grateful and missing his mother so much that at first he doesn't notice the anxiety in Charles's mental touch. And then he reaches out cautiously, wondering what else is wrong.

_I don't... I don't remind you, do I?_

"Never," Erik says, gazing into Charles's eyes. "I... I kept finding him in my dreams, so when I was charged enough I came here for you, because you comfort me." Charles blushes, that charming organic reaction, and Erik smiles. "You know, I want to find my own subroutine for blushing. I did it in the shop and I haven't since."

"You are a marvelous machine, Erik," Charles says. "Your mother built you with love." The words make Erik's eyes well up again and he just nods, clinging to Charles for a long time, slowly soothed back down to baseline by Charles's heartbeat and his steady, deep breathing, and the slow, firm circles he keeps rubbing on Erik's back. At last Erik sighs, raising his head to kiss Charles again, grateful and soft and slow. Charles trembles, and strokes Erik's hair.

"Sleep," Erik says at last, kissing Charles's jaw. "I'll lie here with you and feel better."

He does, too, coming out of power conservation mode the next day with a smile. Charles smiles back. "Good morning, love." 

Now that Erik remembers everything, even something as interesting and wonderful as sexual experimentation with Charles must be put aside in favor of findng all records of his mother for their own sake and for anything they might tell him about the man with no face. Of course, looking for one woman in all the massive databanks of this world and all the colonies with nothing but a name and a physical description is quite an undertaking, and everyone helps. Hank puts off his lab work and Danger turns all her processing power to the search, leaving Raven to run in the garden every morning rather than going through her personal obstacle course. And every morning she comes in and gets to work, digging through newsfeeds and databases along with everyone else.

Erik is touched by so much focused group activity on his account, when he can spare the processing power from his own desperate search. Charles and Darwin have to bully him into charging every other night, keeping him from running his battery down the way he has to admit to himself that he would without supervision. Now when he dreams, he sees his mother's face and hears her voice, and every morning when he brings Charles his tea, he kisses him and thanks him. Every morning Charles kisses him back and says that Erik is welcome, before turning back to the computer.

Every night, more details of his mother's life come to Erik. That her middle name was Martine and that the garden he remembers is on Earth, full of roses and on a hill somewhere temperate. His mother's age and birth date come to him as blazing numerals in blackness, and he cries with happiness on the morning he can finally give Charles and the others the name of a city.

The real breakthrough actually comes when Erik's own searches are sidelined in favor of playing with the baby, an enforced break on Raven's orders. He's sitting on a blanket on the kitchen floor with Midnight, who has just started to yawn and blink when Charles's voice crosses the house

"Erik! Erik! Come quick!"

Since Raven is right there with a plate of crackers and peanut butter and can supervise the baby, he obliges at faster than human speeds, knowing that it's good news by analysis of Charles's voice. He's in front of his computer, cable running from his skulljack, hospital records displayed. "You said you were built by a woman named Edith Lensherr, right? Look! Edith M. Lensherr. Correct age, correct city…"

Erik hooks up and does his own scan of the records, quickly finding medical photographs and running his facial recognition scan over them even though he already knows that this is his mother, hurt but healing in a hospital bed. "She… it is her. It is her, Charles, she's not dead." His eyes well up, and he doesn't even bother to wipe his tears away. He tries to say more but can't, and Charles just holds him for a long time. He had been so sure, seeing all that blood. All of his information on human anatomy says she should be dead, but she's alive. She's alive and safe and--"Charles!" He leaps up, feeling his nanobots roiling inside him. "Charles, the man with no face is still out there!"

"Erik, darling," Charles says, his tone the most soothing of all the various soothing tones Erik has heard from him, "You saw the records. Her ward is secure and the staff know that she has an enemy. They're keeping her safe." This calms Erik enough for Charles to come over and hug him again.


	12. Chapter 12

Charles calls the hospital immediately, of course. He's still connected to the computer for it, and gets that obnoxious echo-y feedback until Erik carefully unplugs him. All the excitement has woken Midnight right up, and Raven brings him in, Hank and Azazel right behind her, Darwin coming a moment later, having to cover more distance from his upstairs room. They all wait, eavesdropping on Charles and the receptionist as they pass the fussy baby from hand to hand. Midnight likes group comfort, rather than getting overstimulated like a lot of babies would, and by the time Charles is talking to the head of hospital security about having Edith Lensherr's personal construct in his possession, Midnight is cooing up at his second father and clinging to one metal thumb with his chubby little blue-furred hand.

"Yes," Charles is saying, "Erik. I was able to rescue him from a junkyard with memory damage, and now he would very much like to see Ms. Lensherr again."

Erik wipes away new tears, and Azazel gives him a one-armed hug as the security chief says that she'll contact the police, and for Charles to bring Erik to the hospital as soon as possible. Ms. Lensherr is in good condition and well able to receive visitors. At last Charles disconnects, and smiles over at Erik. "You heard the lady," he says, and Erik laughs through his tears.

Within ten minutes, Azazel, Charles, and Erik are ready to leave. Erik kisses Midnight's head too lightly to wake him, and then steps through the tiny fold of spacetime to the lobby of the hospital after Charles, who envies his companions their composure. A mutate like Azazel does this as naturally as breathing, and an android like Erik has no digestive system to upset. Charles grimaces, does not vomit onto the institutional blue carpeting, and takes a deep breath as his head stops spinning.

"Professor Xavier?"

He looks up and smiles at the nurse who has come to greet them. "Yes. I've brought Erik here to see Ms. Lensherr. Well, Azazel brought us both, but you know what I mean."

After being scanned by security staff, they're able to go several floors up to where Edie Lensherr is resting in a ward shielded against spacetime folding and most other methods of stealthy entry. Her bed is raised to let her sit up, and her thin, pale face lights up when she sees Erik. She calls to him and German and opens her arms. Erik goes to her and crawls half onto the bed with her, holding her close and pouring blue tears again. The nurse ushers everyone out after that, and Azazel and Charles drink bad hospital coffee on a bench until the door opens again, Erik beckoning them in.

"Mother wants to thank you," he says, and they follow him in and let Edith Lensherr thank them for looking after her boy, voice cracking with emotion.

"Please," Charles says at last, "I could do no differently." Given room to speak, he tells her about his modifications and the effects they have had on his world, that he heard Erik's desperation and had to save him.

Edie sighs. "They still haven't found Shaw."

Erik flinches, and Edie strokes his hair. "It's all right, beloved. They'll catch him, and he'll never hurt either of us again."

Erik can't quite believe that just yet, and much as Charles loves sleeping in his arms, he understands Erik's need to stay with his mother now. Still, Charles lingers as long as he feasibly can, and when he and Azazel return home, the house seems strangely quiet. Azazel pats his shoulder.

"Sometimes being a decent human being almost isn't worth it."

Charles laughs and shakes his head. "No, Azazel. There's nothing I'd trade for."

"I know."

That night Darwin comes to share Charles's bed, laughing at his stammering confusion. "Just to keep you company," he says, crawling under the covers on the opposite side. Darwin is usually right about this kind of thing, built particularly empathetic for his first job of transporting children, many of whom are very nervous about their first trip through the Folds. He cuddles in against Charles, back to back. Charles sighs, only realizing how tense he was when he relaxes.

"Thank you, Darwin." 

"You're welcome."

That night Charles dreams of Erik's first days, toddling weakly out into the garden the first time his gross motor controls engaged, Edie by his side. The dream tilts and slides the way dreams do, and Charles finds himself in another garden, wandering its overgrown paths and looking for a silver rose. When he finds it the thorns prick his fingers, and he wakes up with nothing but a vague impression of red heat on silver coolness.

They go to visit Erik and Edie as soon as breakfast is over, Darwin bringing them this time instead of Azazel, who's still on night shift. Charles has a small shuttle of his own, made for intraworld jumps. He can pilot it himself, but Darwin wants to meet Edie as well, and this way is more efficient, since Charles can cram down his breakfast as Darwin creates the delicate little ripple that carries them smoothly to the hospital's parking garage. They materialize in the designated area, and then hover their way to a space and walk across to the main building. They go through the same security scan as before, and soon Erik is greeting them at Edie's door, smiling softly.


	13. Chapter 13

Today Erik is more ready to exchange information than he was previously, emotional circuits verging on complete overload. He's able to tell Charles that Mother survived because of his nanobots working in tandem with the medical ones she had been designing when Shaw came into their lives, demanding to buy Erik. He shudders as he tells Charles about that part, about how Shaw had been so enraged when Mother had explained that Erik was her son, and not for sale.

 _He went away quietly_ Erik says, hiding in Charles arms again, _but he came back that night to take me away._ He shares the full memory with Charles, which has been restored thanks to Mother working on his brain a little. They're only spare parts, but they help. And Charles helps, holding him close and safe as Erik remembers the man and the gun. The man has a face now, the face of Sebastian Shaw, an unscrupulous collector of rarities. Charles sends a wave of horror and sorrow and protectiveness over Erik, holding him more tightly than ever.

 _I met that man years ago, and vowed never to let him near anything I care about._ Charles's voice in Erik's mind is icy, and comforting because of that. Erik nuzzles into the side of his neck, feeling safe. It's silly, because Charles isn't a particularly skilled fighter or anything, but it's there all the same. Charles's amusement warms Erik's mind. _I may be no warrior, but I can hire the best, Azazel is a one-man army, and we have vicious attack lawyers._

 _The hospital also has excellent security,_ Erik says, showing Charles images of the blast-proof shutters and unbreakable glass, as well as the security drones, human guards, and the fiendishly complicated cyberdefense coding. It's impressive, and reassuring, even if Erik will probably never stop worrying as long as Shaw is alive.

 _And I'll protect you as long as I'm alive. Beyond, too._ He shows Erik the terms of his will that are encoded into Danger, who is almost indestructible, and this bizarre burst of warmth and desire to be close to Charles is presumably love. He puts his arms around Charles and pulls him close, enjoying the organic softness of him. Charles sighs and cuddles closer still, and they stand there like that until the nurse comes in to say that Mother is awake again, and that she wants to see Charles, who turns Erik's favorite shade of pink when he hears this. Erik kisses his cheek and takes his hand, following the nurse out.

Mother has lost entirely too much mass from pain and sickness and worry, but her eyes are bright as she sits up in her bed, waiting for them. "Charles," she says, holding out her hands, "come to me." Erik lets him go, and Charles approaches Mother, shy and sweet and far too surprised to be hugged. "You have been so kind to Erik," Mother says, sounding like she's about to cry, and she kisses Charles on the cheek. "You're my second son, now."

"I... I'm honored, Ms. Lensherr," Charles says, sounding about the same. Erik checks the box of tissues on the bedside table, pleased to see that there are plenty. He's programmed to deal with biological discharges, but the whole thing still seems remarkably excessive. So much water expended, when water comes right after oxygen on the hierarchy of human needs. At last Mother lets Charles go, and they both make use of the tissues as she puts down the bed's outside railing, patting the edge of the mattress. Erik obeys the signal to sit there, and smiles to see his two favorite people in such close proximity and liking each other so much. He runs happy bioscans on both of them, even though Mother's various monitors all say that she's fine. Charles is in excellent health, and Erik is beaming at them both when they hit a pause in their conversation and turn to look at him. 

Mother smiles back, and pats his leg. "Erik is always such a good boy."

"We do love having him around the house," Charles says. "Some of his first programming to come back was the domestic stuff, and he's wonderful with my nephew."

"Mother built me to like babies," Erik says, and she chuckles.

"I'm fond of them myself, and was thinking of being a foster mother before all this started."

Charles sighs. "I really do despise greed."

"It's an evil thing," Mother says, looking sad, and Erik hugs her, wishing that he knew where Shaw was. Mother leans against him and sighs, sounding happier. "An evil thing for an evil man, but thanks to you, Charles, my son is free of him."

"No," Erik says. "I'm not free until I know he can never hurt you again, Mother." He trembles a little, nanobots humming under his skin.

"I feel the same about you, _Liebes_ ," she says, and laces their fingers together. "But I'm safe here, and you're safe with Charles, and when we find him, we'll charge him with everything and make it stick. He'll pay for what he's done, Erik."

That evening Mother insists that Erik go spend time with the baby and in the garden and take plenty of time to charge, because he's spent enough time in cold and sterile places. Erik obeys, not least because an argument would place stress on Mother's systems, something he cannot bear to do. He broods over it in the garden, watching the stars as they become visible, only turning away when he hears Charles approaching. 

_Mind if I join you?_

Erik just smiles, and takes Charles's hand once he's close enough. 


	14. Chapter 14

Charles feels an enormous sense of responsibility for Erik. He's still developing as a sexual being, after all, and Charles wants to be respectful of all his limits and to be as much help in exploring his sexuality as possible. He feels more deferent than he has with any past lover, and when he kisses Erik it's feather light, his hands just resting on those broad shoulders. Erik makes that inhuman purring noise that Charles has heard from pleasure models, and he apparently feels none of Charles's timidity, hands sliding down his back to grip and squeeze his ass, rough and familiar and pushing his fingertips between the cheeks in a way that's intent and just a little rude. Charles whines and presses against him, arms looping around Erik's neck.

"E-Erik..."

"I've been researching our various physical possibilities, Charles." He smiles sweetly down at Charles. "Most of them sound good to me." He squeezes a bit, and Charles whimpers, pushing back into his hands.

"But it seems like you have one particular configuration in mind," he says, and Erik chuckles, transmitting a line graph of his arousal at the idea of each thing he has researched at the time of discovering it, and Charles has to laugh.

 _And the current readings?_ Charles isn't surprised to see a data spike at the idea of fucking him, timestamped with the current moment. He shudders and kisses Erik, returning a very organic wave of desire and then yelping as Erik picks him up and carries him over to the bed. He's very gentle as he arranges Charles on his back, and carefully unfastens every single piece of clothing. He's committing every moment of this to memory, Charles can feel it, and he wriggles and blushes, self-conscious and overwhelmed. Erik kisses him, purring into his mouth and telepathically reaching out to soothe Charles. _It's okay_ Charles tells him, and Erik beams down at him.

_Good._

_You know you should take off your own clothes too, right?_

Erik just smirks, kissing Charles and then kneeling up to pull his shirt over his head. He tosses it aside with android precision and then wriggles his way out of his trousers and the pants beneath. Charles feels like a stupid drooling male animal, but he can't actually resist the compulsion to just stare at Erik's cock. It's half-hard, something Charles has never seen on an android before. Appropriately enough, the switch tends to be at on or off position, with nothing in between. Erik looks completely human except for the pallor of pale synthetic blood filling white synthetic flesh, his foreskin neat and short and already sliding back from the head. Erik chuckles, and ranges over Charles again, grinding slowly against his thigh, getting harder and wetter with each pass.

 _Stay with me?_ Erik asks, his thoughts soft and permeable, metal dust hanging in midair in a beckoning cloud. Charles understands, and slides his own mind closer, making a connection that lets Erik know how and what and why Charles is feeling, fuzzy waves of thought and sensation and emotion converting into a realtime data portrait. Erik purrs again, synthetic muscle fibers vibrating against Charles and making him laugh and shudder at the same time. Erik smiles, and covers Charles's chest in kisses, nibbling as a gentle experiment and then really biting when he realizes how much Charles likes it.

For all his inexperience, Erik isn't shy. He knows exactly what he wants to do, and when he finds Charles docile and passive and happy in his hands, he rolls him onto his belly and parts his legs, running fascinated hands up the backs of his thighs to squeeze him again. He takes a long moment to just knead and explore Charles's ass, so fascinated by its organic softness and spring that Charles has to laugh, and Erik joins in, nibbling at the base of his spine. There's no puff of breath there, and that makes Charles moan, a subtle little imperfection in the human guise of the beautiful machine he's sleeping with.

 _Would you like me without?_ Erik asks, sliding up to kiss Charles's shoulder. He reaches for the lube and sends Charles an image of his bare frame, cutaneous layer removed. It's a gorgeous thing, sleek and minimalist and made of the finest polymers and alloys, a marvel of engineering.

 _Yes,_ Charles moans into Erik's mind, meaning to answer his question and then unable to help it as the real, physical feeling of Erik's finger pushing into him merges with the imagined feeling of all that cool, sleek boron carbide and grade 6 light-cured hyperplastic against his skin. He can feel Erik's arousal and amusement and also a sense of shy pleasure, like a girl who hasn't been told nearly often enough that she's pretty. Under it all is simple fascination with how Charles feels around him as he slides a second finger in beside the first. Charles groans and shudders, burying his face in the pillow and raising his hips. Erik settles in against him, most of his considerable weight on the mattress, skin nearly mirror-smooth in the way no human's ever is. It's especially noticeable where he's working Charles open, stretching him in a way that's as relentless as it is gentle, and Charles whines and squirms, the enforced passivity of the responsible older partner giving way to how much he wants to feel Erik inside him.


	15. Chapter 15

Sliding into Charles is so good that Erik lets everything else go to commit it to long-term memory, vocalizer glitching and letting out a long, low groan and a burst of static and gibberish. The sound won't stop for a long time, because Erik is so consumed by fucking Charles. He's so soft and fragile and wet, and Erik's hips won't stop thrusting, a powerful subroutine he didn't even know he had swamping everything else. Under him Charles is nothing but pleasure and crackling synaptic gaps, writhing and filling his mind with affirmations and pleas for more.

When Erik finally has something like control over himself, he can look down into Charles's face and really see him, optics disconnected from central processing by lust and sensory input. "B-back with me?" Charles gasps, his cheeky grin dissolving into a helpless moan as Erik rocks into him again.

"Yes." He smiles, and leans down to kiss Charles, humming happily at the taste of his pheromones. They're so... they contain no sugars, but 'sweet' is the word a human might use. Charles whimpers into his mouth, and Erik moans, unsure exactly what he's feeling.

 _Possessive,_ Charles tells him, soft and fuzzy and unmoored, _you're feeling possessive._ There are unpleasant secondary meanings and associations to the word, but it feels good, the way Charles sends it, like love but hotter and sharper. Charles laughs when Erik sends him the thought, and wraps his legs around Erik's waist, the naked metal of them cool on his skin as Charles adds the image of a bird in a cage with an open door, a combination of security and freedom that makes Erik chuckle as he runs his hands from the flesh of Charles's upper thighs to the metal below.

 _?_ Erik doesn't need words for this question, and Charles's reply is an excited blast of code. Yes, he does have interfaces in his legs, and they are compatible with Erik's systems. Erik shivers happily and detaches the flesh of his palms. He has never done this before, but it happens nearly as automatically as the thrusting had. He hands the pieces to Charles, who blushes and laughs, holding them up by his face in something like a hug, loving them because they're part of Erik. He jumps and tightens at the feeling of metal on metal, and then groans as microports iris open to take the tiny connectors that extend from Erik's hands.

Erik has interfaced with other droids, of course. Much like the word 'intercourse' for humans, there are multiple meanings. Erik has shared code with the grocery store's delivery droid, of course, and that had been a lot like talking to Charles mind-to-mind. Clear, without contextual murkiness, and with a wonderful brevity. The word 'apples' could have meant any number of different fuel units, but with a wireless connection to the friendly Milo unit, Erik could share Mother's exact specifications: small, sour, and green for pies, big and red-gold for baking, and small red ones to eat with one hand while she worked on schematics. It's a nice, clean, mechanical way to communicate, and so is this, even if it's completely different. With the connections in place, he can feel every molecule of Charles's metal parts, the long fibers of artificial muscle in his legs, every turn and deviation of the spidery silver tracery hidden by his hair, and the deepest parts, locked in the dark secrecy of his human skull. There's a buzz to the awareness that means Charles is receptive to Erik's code, and that he trusts him with every part of it, even the ones worked into his precious, squishy, irreplaceable processor. Erik is so honored that it scares him, and he whimpers for a long moment, burying his face in the side of Charles's neck to feel the pumping of his blood and the movement of air in his lungs.

After a long moment, Erik starts to thrust into Charles again, purring as he experiments with code patterns. He just works on the legs at first, learning how to make them feel bursts of temperature and sensation and vibration and pure pleasure as Charles twitches and gasps under him, toes spasmodically curling and uncurling. It feels like a long time, but his chronometer lets him know that really, it has only been a few minutes before he starts to feel confident enough to work with the rest of Charles's mods. Knowing how much Erik wants to keep him safe, Charles sends Erik an echo of everything he does, and soon Erik's vocalizer is glitching again as Charles's seems to do the organic equivalent, his voice cracking and wavering mindlessly up and down in sounds that are nothing like words.

The connection physically established, Erik can unplug and wrap his arms around Charles, holding him tightly as he fucks him faster and harder, code and organic responses tangled and shared and wonderful. Familiar by now with his own orgasmic response, Erik is glad to feel Charles approaching climax at approximately the same rate as himself, and kisses him, muffling both their wild sounds as he caresses Charles's metal with his nanobots, making it hum as Charles keens and ejaculates all over Erik's chest, throwing him into the induced glitch of orgasm. Given that what humans have is essentially a pleasurable seizure, Erik hadn't been surprised to discover that it takes him almost a full minute to come properly online again. When he does, he kisses Charles again and slides out of him, rolling onto his back and collecting the semen to chemically analyze it as Charles laughs, breathless and happy.


	16. Chapter 16

Between visiting Edie, soothing Erik's worries, and getting fucked stupid by a tireless android, Charles barely has time for anything else. It takes him a good two weeks to realize that he hardly sees Darwin at all anymore, and a few days after that before he manages to corner his wayward housemate and ask him about it.

Darwin is in the hangar, tinkering with the shuttle the way he does whenever he has any spare time. Pilot models love this kind of thing, and Charles smiles, sitting beside the open panel where Darwin has crawled deep into the guts of the engine. "Darwin?"

"Yeah?"

"Where have you been lately?"

There's a long pause, and then some clanking before Darwin pokes his head out. "I'm not in trouble or anything, Charles. Don't worry."

"You're a droid of your word so I won't pry, but if it's not a particular secret..."

Darwin chuckles. "I met a guy, that's all."

Charles beams. "Wonderful! You know you're welcome to bring him back here, of course."

"I know that, but he's kind of insecure. Newly out of jail, and all that."

"Ah. Poor thing. I don't suppose he did anything too awful?"

"Just some thefts, and he's sorry about them." He sends Charles a file on inmate 83501-Q, Alex Summers, and gets back to work as Charles peruses it. There's a bad photograph of a beautiful boy, a fairly good psychological evaluation, and a list of armed robberies in which none of the guns were actually fired. He might actually be a bad person, but at least he's sensible and not murderous. He's even out on good time, and all told, Darwin could do far worse.

"Where'd you meet him?" Charles asks.

"On the Arcturus jump. That's where the halfway house was, but he was born on Earth and wanted to come home. Size seven anti-grav coupling, please."

Charles digs the right one out of the box and passes it to Darwin. "Those wear out so much faster than they should..."

"Not with all the intraplanet jumps you take."

"Maybe I _should_ go on offworld holiday, if the bloody things are going to give out anyway."

"Will you take Erik with you?" Darwin teases, and Charles blushes.

"Oh, probably."

"Please tell me you're fucking him, Charles."

"A gentleman doesn't kiss and tell, Darwin."

"So yes, then. Good."

Charles fetches a few more things for Darwin, but at last leaves him alone, heading upstairs to meet the other organics for dinner. Azazel is filling the rice cooker, and Erik is slicing all the ingredients for an elaborate stir-fry, controlling four knives. Charles smiles, leaning against the wall and watching them, not wanting to get in the way. Erik looks over and the knives don't pause for a moment as he grins at Charles.

"Azazel says this is one of your favorites."

"It is. It's something about the beef and the peppers together."

"Yes, and Erik can make the beef thin enough for your dainty palate without giving himself eye strain or arthritis," Azazel adds, turning to examine the food. "That's enough, Erik, thank you." Erik scrapes each item onto its own plate, slipping the knives and cutting boards into and out of the dishwasher and putting them away as Azazel carefully oils the wok. Droids can hear the ultrasonic tones the dishwasher uses to blast every particle off of the dishes before flash-sanitizing them, and some find it unpleasant, but Erik doesn't seem to mind.

Raven joins them before the rice is done, but Erik has to go fetch Hank and Midnight, who have been tucked up in Hank's study, with a paper on his latest findings and a set of educational toys, respectively. In the end the whole family ends up around the table after all, Darwin coming up to drain an energy pack with Erik. It's a homey, quiet evening, and part of a time that Charles appreciates all the more in retrospect. He goes to bed with Erik and wakes up with him and does what he can to increase Edie's comfort and drives the shuttle himself when they visit her because Darwin is scarce again, always off somewhere with Alex, and the next two weeks pass in peace, with good reports from Edie and no news of Shaw.

It ends with a phone call. At three a.m. the ringtone jolts Charles awake, and he answers, too blurry even to check the name of the caller. "Hello?" Beside him, Erik sits up, Charles's voice drawing him out of power conservation mode.

"Charles Xavier?" It's a voice he doesn't know, but it sounds so frantic and grief-stricken that it wakes him up completely.

"Yes. What's wrong?"

"I... fuck!" it breaks on a sob, sounding very young and very irritated with itself to be crying. "You gotta come down here now. I'm at the Emergency Unit of the repair shop on 25th."

"…Alex?"

"Yeah. I didn't wanna meet you like this, either, but get down here, please."

"Of course. We'll be right there." Charles hangs up without asking how bad it is, because they probably haven't told Alex. Darwin's legal owner is actually the corporation he works for, but Charles is authorized to make repair and maintenance decisions. It's similar to having medical power of attorney for a human, and he gathers the necessary documents while Erik wakes the others and then dresses the baby since none of the three can bear to stay behind and Midnight is wide awake with everyone's anxiety.

Poor Danger _has_ to stay, but Erik interfaces with her so she'll know what's going on as soon as he does.


	17. Chapter 17

It was Shaw. It's Shaw's fault again that someone Erik loves is near death. Well, permanent deactivation, but it's the same thing. Poor Darwin is melted and charred, the result of an attack from one of the illegal hand-sized plasma cannons that are capable of reducing a human to ash or a droid to slag in seconds. He had been looking for Erik, of course. Once he had caught word of Erik's rescue from the scrapyard, he had tried to trace his energy signature. The trail had been too old to lead him to the house, but from sharing a charger and spending so much time together generally, he had been able to get a reading off of Darwin. After staking out Alex's house, he had waited for them near the corner store, stepping out and demanding to know where Erik was. Darwin hadn't told him, and had taken a blast meant for Alex. Even his adaptive nanobots hadn't saved him from horrible damage, but he had been able to redirect part of the energy toward Shaw.

Alex had also gotten him in the head with a rock before he had activated a personal teleportation device, and futile as the gesture really is, Erik still appreciates it. He also likes the thought of how sick Shaw must be feeling, wherever he is now. There's a reason almost no one uses those things, and Erik hopes the bastard vomits himself to death.

There is some hope that Darwin will regain structural and memory integrity, and Charles authorizes the most aggressive repair efforts. Knowing that it will be hours of work before they know anything for good or ill, Charles gets Raven and her husbands to take the baby home, and then settles in with Erik and Alex to wait. Alex is as pale as a droid, hunching his shoulders forward in his black leather jacket and curling up like a fetus. Erik hates to see humans so upset, but has no idea how to comfort a man he has never met before.

Charles gets up and sits on the other side of Alex, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Bad as this is, I'm glad to see how much you care for Darwin. Thank you for that."

Alex laughs softly, his eyes miserable. "You're welcome, man."

"I'm sorry," Erik says, voice a little staticky with emotion, and they book look at him in surprise. "If he hadn't been looking for me..."

"Erik," Charles says, so sharply it surprises him, "this was in no way your fault. It's not your fault that he's obsessed with you, and it's not your fault that he can't study you respectfully, it's not your fault that he wants to own you, it's not your fault that he's a homicidal narcissist. Nothing Sebastian Shaw does is your fault."

Erik scrubs at his blue tears with his sleeve, and Charles comes back around to hug him, softly telling Alex about Erik's history and then falling silent, because there's nothing else to say. They wait for two hours, fifty-six minutes, and thirty-nine seconds and ten picoseconds before a doctor comes out. He reminds Erik of MacTaggart, and Charles telepathically agrees as he tells them that Darwin's main core at least seems to be intact, and that there is no need to worry about deactivation.

"We have him hooked up to a care unit, and he's taking external power well. He'll probably need a whole new cutaneous layer and substantial frame repair, but I'm very happy to say that he is still with us and doing as well as could possibly be expected."

Alex bursts into tears, looking utterly shocked at himself, and Charles just takes him into his arms, murmuring soothingly. Erik cries a few more tears of his own, but they're quieter and much less messy. There is no question about what to do with Alex, of course. After calling Raven with the good news and making sure that Alex has no plants or pets to look after, Charles ushers him out to the shuttle and takes them all home.

Since none of the organics can sleep and Alex had been walking to the store with Darwin in the first place in order to get fuel, Hank cooks for the organics and Erik drains an energy pack, needing the extra charge after all the processor stresses of the morning. He does his best to soothe the organics and cuddles up with Charles when he goes back to bed, too exhausted even for his anxiety to keep him awake anymore. Erik holds him until he's deeply asleep, and then goes to be with Danger, sharing code and images and concern and memories of Darwin.

Even though this whole mess has only happened because Shaw doesn't know where Erik is, he's still scared. He remembers the lab and the storage locker and the men at the scrapyard trying to take him apart. He would rather deactivate than go back to any of that, and Danger's blast-proof walls and soothing presence make him feel safe.


	18. Chapter 18

One of the good things about constructs is that they're much easier to repair than humans. Edie was shot six months ago and is just now stable enough to consider returning home, while Darwin goes from an unresponsive lump of slag to an active temporary frame within a week. Temp frames have a lot more in common with loading drones than they do with actual droids, but Darwin is delighted to be up and about again. They've been visiting him at the shop and talking to him through the care unit's human interface, but Alex still clings to the temp frame once Darwin's main cores have been settled in it He'll need an information patch, having lost one of his backups and a few shuttle schematics with it, but his pilot frametype has served him well, his skull acting like a black box in an ancient airplane.

Compared to Darwin's usual body, the spindly, lightweight temp frame is made of tissue paper, but he really doesn't seem to mind, too glad to be able to hold Alex again. He sits in Alex's lap on the ride home, delicate and silvery, and keeps pressing lipless kisses to his cheek. Glad as the rest of them are to see Darwin in some kind of working order, they make sure to leave him and Alex alone together as much as possible. Erik clings to Charles, never wanting to let him out of his sight, and insists on visiting Edie every day no matter how much she tells him to relax and that she's safe.

"I'm more worried about _you_ , Erik," she says, and Erik just smiles and shakes his head.

"You couldn't possibly, Mother. It would take all your processing power."

"Mothers have their ways, _Liebes_ ," she says, and kisses his cheek. "Please be safe."

Naturally there's an APB out for Shaw, but he hasn't had this long a career of villainy by being easy to find. There are police officers all around the house, and Danger has upgraded all their security systems, but Charles won't feel anything like secure until Shaw is in custody. Still, he outlines all of it for Edie, and leaves her a bit more relaxed at the end of their visit. Erik holds his hand on the way out, mind warm with gratitude. Charles squeezes Erik's hand gently, sending back his own gratitude that he knows Erik and has been able to help him.

At home they check on Darwin, finding him in the charging stand, which temp frames need to use far more often than any standard model, and then play a game with Alex, because he's broody and fretful over Darwin and could use the distraction. Charles feels for him, and hangs around to keep him company long after they've solved most of the game's puzzles and Erik has gone off to watch the baby while Hank and Raven make dinner.

"Hey, Charles?" Alex asks, both of them slumped on the couch and watching a brainless TV show that Charles can only tolerate because it soothes Alex.

"Yes?"

"Are you and Erik fucking?"

Charles laughs long and loud, and Alex blushes, grinning sheepishly. "Yes, we are. I take it you'd like to ask me about human-on-droid sexuality?"

"Uh, yeah," he says, squirming a little.

"It's a bit different for me as a cyborg," Charles says, trying not to think too much about the ports in his legs. "But generally, it's a lot like being with a human. The biggest difference is in the nature of sexual focus. Since so many models don't have genitals of any kind, their response is more diffuse, and they get more from their hands and their mouths."

"Okay." His cheeks flush again. "He's been talking about maybe getting some junk installed."

"I fully intend to ask him if he'd like any mods to his frame while they're fixing it." Charles winks at Alex. "I'll keep you in mind."

That night Erik cuddles in against Charles and slides immediately into power conservation mode, trying to minimize his use of the charger when Darwin needs it so often. Charles smiles down at him and presses a kiss to his forehead. It takes him a lot longer to get to sleep, but it happens at last.

He's dreaming of something peaceful when Danger calls, snapping him and Erik both awake in an instant, with a blaring alarm and a wash of bright red agony. Erik leaps up and races downstairs, certain that Shaw is here. Charles follows as fast as humanly possible. Danger is locked down, and Shaw is inside, trying to blast his way out. Danger is in horrible pain, but she won't let him go, determined to protect her family. When Erik is close enough, the door opens just enough for him to slip inside. Charles scrambles after him without a thought, and barely has time to look down the barrel of Shaw's plasma cannon before there's a wet, organic sound, and the red isn't just in Charles's mind anymore.


	19. Chapter 19

Erik has never killed anyone before. Mother didn't make him to be a weapon, and so he can't help but be a little sad. But only a little. And there's a beautiful, poetic justice in using his nanobots to tear Shaw apart. It's very messy and just as final. With immediate attention a human can survive almost any injury with cybernetic repair, but having every individual blood cell in their bodies ripped out by nanobots is not one of those injuries. Where Shaw was standing a moment ago there's nothing but red walls and floor. The droplets that went straight up rain down gently in the sudden silence. Danger eases a bit, her self-repair systems able to start working, cleaning system sloughing the blood from the walls to pool on the floor for identification and police analysis.

There are red dots like freckles on Charles's face, and somehow that overrides everything. He yanks Charles into his arms and sets his nanobots to frantically cleaning him, running every physical scan he's capable of.

 _It's all right, Erik. It's over._ Charles's mental voice is soothing, and Danger sends him an image of sunlight through green leaves that makes his eyes fill with tears.

"Holy shit," Azazel says, standing in the doorway. He slips a plasma cannon of his own into the pocket of his bathrobe.

"Charles?" Raven shrieks, and shoves her way past Azazel, stopping and staring at what's left of Shaw.

"I'm all right, Raven," Charles says. He's trembling all over and stinks of adrenaline and other steroid hormones, but all his systems are functioning correctly, and that knowledge lets Erik force himself to let go of Charles. He goes to Raven and tells her that Shaw got in, and that he's dead now and all of them are safe. Erik panics, thinking of Mother, and calls the hospital only to find her sleepy and confused and safe, wondering why he sounds so worried. She authorizes video so that Erik can see for himself that she's all right, and he feels that dizzying cascade of overrides, the equivalent of the sudden withdrawal of stress hormones that's making Charles shake and lean on Raven's shoulder for support.

"Cops are on their way," Hank says, rocking Midnight, who is wide awake and squalling with all the disturbance.

"Erik," Charles says, "come here. Danger, we love you and we'll be back. Hold for now, they'll need evidence. You'll be able to finish cleaning soon."

She sends a warm, yellow affirmative, and Erik follows the others to the kitchen. Alex is there, carrying Darwin in his arms, looking around wildly. His hair is sticking straight up and he's only wearing boxers and one sock, but he looks ready and willing to fight anything or anyone that might hurt Darwin. Erik hasn't had much time to think about this kind of thing, but he decides here and now that he really does approve of their relationship.

"It's all right," Erik says, "he's dead."

"You kill him?" Alex asks.

"Yes."

"Good." He tenderly sets Darwin onto a chair. Temp frames have a much more primitive power conservation mode, and Darwin is still in it, old-style LED eyes switched off. He isn't noticing anything around him, but Alex is very gentle with him anyway. Erik likes that.

It doesn't occur to Erik to worry about being taken away until halfway through questioning. Then he can't think of anything else, and doesn't relax again until Danger's recordings back him up and they decide that his actions definitely fit under the laws about self- and human-defense, particularly given Erik's prior experience with Shaw and the protectiveness in his very programming.

"After all, Erik," Charles says, when the police are finally gone and Danger is scrubbing herself clean of all Shaw residue, "I would have been allowed to kill him, and I don't have half your provocations."

Erik just holds Charles a little closer, and sends him an image of child with a teddy bear that makes him laugh. They're sitting in the corridor outside Danger's door, because none of them want her to be alone right now. Alex is holding Darwin's temp frame the same way Erik is holding Charles, and he smiles, looking away before Alex can catch his eye and get embarrassed.

Raven and the others are a loving little huddle around Midnight, exhaustion rapidly overtaking all four of them. Erik would offer to help them up to bed, but that would involve letting go of Charles, and that's not something he'll be able to countenance for a long time yet. Charles sends him a wave of comfort and nuzzles his shoulder.

There's a loud buzz, and Darwin's LEDs illuminate as he comes online again. He looks up at Alex, confused and really rather adorable. "Alex?"

"Shaw's dead, baby," Alex says softly, stroking the temp frame's smooth cranium. "Erik killed the son of a bitch."

"Oh. ...Are you all right, Erik?"

"He wanted to make me into a weapon, so he was the only person I felt right being a weapon against." He overrides his arms as they try to squeeze Charles, since they're already holding him as tightly as a human can be held without bruising. "And he was going to kill Charles."

"Shit, it must have been easy, then."

Erik smiles, feeling his nanobots still sizzling. "Yes. It was."


	20. Chapter 20

Edie is of course frantic when she hears what happened, and Charles takes Erik right over to see her. She's nearly ready to go home, and Erik has to join the hospital staff in persuading her to remain for one more night. Her crutches aren't ready yet and one of her ordered medications won't come in until the morning.

"Please, Mother," Erik says. "We really are safe now. We can wait."

She grumbles, but gives in, and Charles tries not to cling too desperately to Erik when they get home. Not that it's really Erik's home, and the realization makes him feel guilty. He squeaks in surprise when Erik scoops him into his arms as easily as Charles would pick up a house cat

"Dear one," he says, and kisses Charles's cheek. Charles blushes and relaxes a little. "Are you feeling guilty for feeling a bit possessive?"

"Just a bit. I'd _never_ try to stop you going home, Erik, but I will miss you."

"Of course you will," Erik says softly, "you love me." He sounds honestly confused as to why Charles would worry even for a moment about his selfishness harming him that Charles feels tears coming to his eyes. He whimpers and hides his face in Erik's neck, trembling as Erik carries him up to bed, Danger updating her status as they pass her, a new ritual that calms everyone. She's comfortable and conserving power, feeling like a sleepy cat in their minds. Erik mentions in a little flicker of code that he wonders if Edie will agree to get a cat when they're at home together, and then slides gratitude and love over Charles's mind. He stretches Charles's body out on the bed, and smiles at the way he moans. "So beautiful," he says, and pushes Charles's shirt up to kiss his navel, always fascinated by it.

"S-so are you, love," Charles gasps, giggling as Erik nibbles gently.

"Yes, but I was built. You just happened. Much more impressive."

Charles laughs, and then shudders as Erik drags his trousers down. "Still, you are a remarkably beautiful machine."

"And you are a remarkably beautiful animal." He grins and slides his palms over Charles's legs, making him tremble to remember what the physical connection feels like. _I love that I can plug into you directly,_ Erik sends, and Charles whimpers, letting Erik caress his mind with code.

It's a long night for Charles's feeble organic body, but he's glad to let Erik have anything he can think of, committing all of it to long-term memory. All told he only gets about four hours of sleep, but it's definitely worth it. Erik clings to him for their journey to the hospital, and Charles tries not to be too obviously miserable as he kisses Erik goodbye before he breaks away to usher his mother into the transport shuttle that will take them home.

Charles stands at the launch for a long time after they're gone, and then wretchedly slopes home to drink. Just gin in his tea, but Raven knows the signs of incipient despair when she sees them and sits down with him. Erik had said his goodbyes to everyone else before leaving with Charles, and Midnight looks almost as low as Charles feels.

"You're not the only one," Raven tells him, seeing his thoughts in his glance toward the baby. "Here, commiserate." She hands Midnight to him and he smiles, cuddling him.

"You miss Erik too, don't you?"

"Aahbll buu," Midnight agrees, and reaches up to grab Charles's hair. He chuckles and gently extricates himself after a moment, hushing Midnight and rocking him gently when he makes a displeased noise at being thwarted.

"There, there, love. We'll get by somehow."

Erik greatly assists with this project by calling Charles that night. It's wireless contact like two droids would use at this distance, and lets Erik transmit all kinds of things without breaking the flow of their conversation. Charles hides his wretched pining because Erik is so happy to be home. The house is in the Westenwald, and there's a beautiful view from the garden, which is still full of roses even though it's nearly the end of summer. Inside things are clean and minimalist and old-fashioned, with lots of stone and wood. The house is rustic without being self-conscious about it, and Erik is amused when Charles sends him the thought, sending back a short history of the place which reveals that house really is about as old as it looks.

Over the next few weeks Erik calls at least daily. Video calls to show the whole family what the house looks like, and individual voice calls where he sings to Midnight and offers scientific advice to Hank and helps Azazel keep up his German just like he did when he was living with them. It helps a lot, but Charles still spends a lot of time wanking and hugging his pillow. It's all rather embarrassing, particularly when Darwin catches Charles in the charger, feeling around for Erik's energy patterns. At least he's not doing anything worse, and Darwin just laughs.

"I miss him too, man." He's back in his own frame by now, of course, and one wouldn't suspect a thing had happened except for slight changes to his cutaneous layer. Darwin is a fairly old model, and an exact replacement wasn't possible, the plant that manufactured him having changed hands and accordingly altered their polymer recipes. His skin is a slightly darker brown now, with fewer red notes. It suits him.

"I know," Charles says with a sheepish smile, stepping out of the charger. Darwin still needs extra charging time, and probably will for the next six months or so as he fully settles back into his frame. He settles in and gets comfortable, and Charles pats his shoulder before leaving him to nap in peace.


	21. Chapter 21

Erik actually appreciates not having Charles around at first. He needs to readjust to his home and do all the neglected gardening (Mother pays a service to come once a week and that kept happening while she was in the hospital, but it's the not same as Erik's own loving attention,) and of course look after Mother herself. She still needs special medications and activity limitations and for someone to prepare her fuel so she doesn't have to stand up for so long. Even with medical attention she had almost died, and her spinal cord had actually been severed. It could still detach under too much exertion, and Erik needs all his processing power to keep Mother from overdoing it. He actually takes a nursing patch to better care for her, and the sudden influx of information gives him circuit aches and make him desperate for extra recharge cycles. 

After about six weeks of adjustment, though, Erik starts to really miss him. After eight weeks and no mention from Charles of coming to see Erik or the reverse, he calls Raven. When he explains things to her, he has to turn down the volume on her incredulous squawk.

"Seriously? He hasn't even mentioned it?"

"Not a word, not a line of code."

"Erik, so help me God, I will _make_ him visit you." They talk about other things, then, but the next day Charles calls Erik, sheepish and hopeful.

_So, I'm given to understand that it would no longer be an imposition for me to visit._

_Hasn't been for at least two weeks, Charles._

_I didn't want to be pushy._

The day after that, Charles shows up at the garden gate late in the morning. Erik is making lunch for Mother, but as he looks out the window he sees one of the little cleaning and companion bots she built to keep the house and keep her company while she made him greeting Charles, and smiles. The little creature bounces up at and down at Charles's feet, and Erik can imagine its excited beebling. Charles laughs and crouches to pat its sleek, hemispherical top surface, and then stands and lets it lead him inside.

"Charles is here, Mother."

"About time! Should one of us go out to meet him?"

"No need, Trip is bringing him in." Trip is the third of the bugs, named for 'Triple.'

 _Charles, would you like some of the fuel I'm making?_ He sends him a code-portrait of the latkes he's frying and of the green salad and brisket that are standing ready, and Charles returns with a profound affirmative. Erik beams, fixing more food as Mother laughs.

"It's sweet to see you in love, son."

"I'm glad you approve."

"Of course I do. He took care of you when I couldn't."

The thought of that time still makes Erik sad, but it's soothed by having Mother here and healing, and almost erased entirely by Trip coming through the door with Charles in tow. Soli and Duo are following, beebling curiously. "Hello, everyone. Erik has invited me to lunch and Trip has decided that we're best friends."

"Trip is best friends with everyone," Mother says, and Charles laughs, coming over to the stove to hug Erik before sitting down with Mother. Erik smiles, and soon has their meal nicely arranged for them, getting himself an energy pack and draining it while his two favorite people in the world refuel. Charles updates both of them on the well-being of all the family, and Mother tells Charles about her plans to take on foster children and to get a cat, because Erik wants one. He does want one, because they remind him of Charles and without a baby in the house, he would like a small organic to love. Mother plans on looking after older children, since they're more complex and less appealing than babies and aren't placed as easily. "I meant to start fostering as soon as Erik was old enough to help, and God knows I'm not going to let Sebastian Shaw inconvenience me any more than he has already." She reaches out and pats Erik's hand, knowing how any mention of Shaw makes him feel. "I was planning on filling this house with love, and I'm going to keep to that plan."

Charles agrees that it's a good plan, and once Mother is settled for her midday nap, Erik takes Charles over the house, all four of the bugs hovering along behind them. There are things that don't photograph well, and the gardens are changeable by their very nature, and humans are better at deciding what to do with rooms when they see them in physical reality. The three bedrooms meant for up to six children are completely bare, and Charles is full of suggestions for how to make them more welcoming.

Erik also shows Charles his own room. Literally at first, and then they've tipped his charger horizontal, sprawled on it and tangled together while Quad beeps in confusion at this strange thing they're doing until Erik transmits a command to go clean the hallway. Charles laughs, muffled against Erik's chest.

When Mother wakes up they have to get back into their clothes so Erik can go make sure she doesn't need any help. She shoos him away, but then Charles has to go. Erik is miserable to part from him again, but cheered by Mother's ready agreement to his suggestion of installing a gate.

Azazel arrives to install one the next day, and after that seeing Charles is as easy as stepping through a door. As Mother gets stronger, she calls her lawyer and arranges for legal dual ownership of Erik between herself and Charles. On a beautiful autumn day Erik holds Quince (named for the fruit and for being the house's fifth pet) in his arms, purring at the same frequency as the cat as he watches Charles sign the hard copy, giving Erik two places to call home.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Cover art for "Mechanical Hearts"](https://archiveofourown.org/works/2746148) by [avictoriangirl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/avictoriangirl/pseuds/avictoriangirl)




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